MICKLEOVER schoolgirl Maisie Moore is hoping to become the next Dame Laura Kenney after being scouted by the British Cycling team.
Fourteen-year-old Maisie was among a group of children at Murray Park Community School, in Mickleover, who were given the chance to take part in a Wattbike challenge.
After beating all the competition – including girls in the older year groups – Maisie has been invited to take part in four fast track sessions at Derby Arena where British Cycling will be looking for the Olympians of the future.
She will be joined at the velodrome session by other youngsters identified as having potential from across the UK, including London, Scotland and Manchester.
Maisie is already a competitive swimmer and a member of Repton Swimming Club, which means she trains seven times a week, often getting out of bed at 4.30am to practise before school.
She said: “I hadn’t done much cycling before, but I enjoyed the Wattbike competition. You had to see the average wattage you could hold for three minutes and mine was 225 watts, and 500 watts in a six second sprint.
“I have always been quite sporty and, because I swim, my stamina is good and my legs are quite strong.
“I’m really excited about the trial and I will have to see which sport I prefer – cycling or swimming. I’d love to make it to the Olympics one day; that’s the goal.”
Encouraging sport and walking or cycling to school has been a priority for staff at Murray Park School and this year, for the fourth time, it took part in the Big Walk and Wheel Challenge – coming 16th in the UK.
Schools across the country compete over the course of a week to see who can record the greatest number of pupils walking, using a wheelchair, scooting or cycling to school.
Murray Park is passionate about encouraging pupils to be more active and has introduced a range of new sports to encourage groups not traditionally keen on PE lessons – such as girls, children with special educational needs, ethnic minorities and those from socio economic deprivation.
Tiffany Fletcher from British Cycling said: “Maisie showed real potential when we visited Murray Park. We invited a few pupils to a testing day so we can take a closer look at them – but Maisie can’t make it. Then we realised her times were so good she is coming straight to the next stage.
“Cycling at the velodrome is very different to cycling on a static bike. You can get into the zone on a static bike, but at the velodrome you are cycling in a bunch, so you are cycling very close together.
“From an endurance point of view Maisie is very strong and many athletes transfer from swimming to cycling – so we’re really hopeful that Maisie will be one of them.”
This story was written and shared on behalf of Murray Park Community School by Sarah Newton. Can we share your news and get you in the news too?
